N. Korean beer sale in China

Taedonggang beer, a state-owned North Korean brand, is available in grocery stores in Dandong and Shenyang, China, according to news reports.

"I noticed billboards promoting Taedonggang beer on a street near Dandong Station, and also newspaper advertisements showing the addresses and phone numbers of retail stores," a source told Radio Free Asia.

The beer is not yet widely distributed in China. Sources from Shenyang and Dandong said they could find only a few stores selling the beer in Xita Street where many Koreans live and in Korean gift shops.

North Korea's popular beer costs 20 yuan ($3) a bottle, four times the price of regular brands in Chinese grocery stores.

"The beer has a soft, rich flavor with more alcohol than Chinese beers," said a Chinese man who tasted Taedonggang beer at a restaurant in Dandong.

"However, the price is too expensive for Chinese citizens to drink regularly."